Monday, September 01, 2003

CENTCOM NEWS RELEASES

August 31, 2003
Release Number: 03-08-64

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION OFFERS HELP WITH WATER, JOBS AND PUBLIC SAFETY

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Life gets a little better in Iraqi towns due to Coalition assistance. Coalition forces are helping Iraqis by installing a generator at a water lift station, by providing jobs for Iraqis who have technical and mechanical skills and by providing a local law enforcement agency with hand-held radios.

Navy Seabees helped install a 1.3-megawatt generator at the Kish Water Lift Station that provides water to about 50,000 hectares of farmland in south central Iraq. The station was supposed to be reworked three years ago but the parts ordered didn’t fit. As a result, the project was abandoned.

The new generator, which is so large it had to be moved into place with a crane, was refurbished in Kuwait this summer and transported to the city of Ad Diwaniyah to await installation at the plant.

In Umm Qasr, a port town in southern Iraq, many townspeople are employed by the British Army and enjoy working alongside their military counterparts. The Iraqi employees who work with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers proved their mechanical skills by completing two days of practical tests. The role requires mechanics to complete major vehicle repairs, such as engine and gearbox changes.

In Mosul, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) recently purchased 49 hand-held radios for the Mosul Police Department. The radios will be used to help the newly trained police force communicate throughout the Ninevah Province.

Additionally, the 101st is helping the Iraqi Public Safety Office draft a contract for $10 million in communications assets to go to ambulance services, fire departments and the Ministry of Civil Defense, as well as other police officers.

The communications systems will help the Iraqi public safety organizations rebuild their infrastructure and will allow them to play a larger role in providing a safe and secure environment in Iraq.

August 31, 2003
Release Number: 03-08-65

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VEHICLE FALLS IN CANAL, ONE SOLDIER DROWNS, TWO INJURED

TIKRIT, Iraq – One Task Force Ironhorse, 4th Infantry Division soldier drowned and two were wounded when the military vehicle they were riding in, while on routine patrol, fell into a canal in the Tikrit area at approximately 6:15 p.m. EST on Aug. 29.

The two injured soldiers where evacuated to the 21st Combat Support Hospital where they were treated and returned to duty.

The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.